A Crowborough councillor has launched a scathing attack on Labour after bussing the first group of migrants into their ex-army base overnight.
Speaking to GB News, Michael Lunn, of the Wealden District Conservatives, hit out at the Government’s decision to begin moving the migrants in, declaring a “day of shame” for Labour.
The first 27 migrants have been moved into the former army bade, which will be scaled up to more than 500 single adult men.
The coach, with a police escort, was driven onto the Crowborough Camp just before 3.30am today. The Home Office has insisted that they will only be housed there for up to three months while their asylum claim is processed, before being removed from the country if their claim is rejected.
Delivering his stark assessment of the operation, Mr Lunn told the People’s Channel: “We’re really concerned. There’s been a lot of activity, a lot of development works that have gone on within the camp.
“We know that we’ve got the evidence of that and we’ve been calling on Wealden District Council, the leader, Councillor James Partridge, and the deputy leader, Councillor Rachel Millward, who’s also the deputy leader of the Green Party, to put a stop notice in under planning regulations.”
He added: “They’ve got the powers to do it, they’ve got the resources to do it. But today it’s been silent.
“It’s a real day of shame for this authority, and I can only apologise to residents of what is going to be coming over the next few weeks. It’s a real shame and there’s a lot of concerned residents.”
Councillor Michael Lunn has declared a ‘day of shame’ for Labour
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GB NEWS
Asked by GB News Home and Security Editor Mark White if he believes the “Lib Dems and the Greens are just not willing to listen to the very real concerns of their electorate”, he responded: “They’re very good at writing letters, they’re very good putting stuff to camera, but there’s little legal action, and it’s going to need that legal action on the Government, which the council could do, they could do it today if they wanted to.
“They could inform a stop notice on the Government under the regulations, but they’re not doing it at the moment.”
He added: “But the concerns of the local residents, we’re looking for an impact assessment to make sure that this is a safe, legal and compliant site.
“We’ve had absolutely no consultation, no evidence presented to us as councillors, even though the Home Office actually promised to give us that evidence, and we’ve not seen anything.”
The camp has now been opened | HOME OFFICE
Expressing concern for the migrants being bussed in to the local doctor’s surgery for appointments, Mr Lunn explained: “I represent Rotherfield, which is a local village, very rural village.
“We understand that the doctor’s surgery is registered to accept migrants coming into the surgery. They’re going to get special, effectively, slots to go in to see the doctors if they need.”
He stressed: “The waiting list is already huge. Trying to get a doctor’s appointment there is absolutely crazy.
“We’ve got a bus service right outside this gate, and we’ve got young girls and schoolchildren travelling through this area, and there’s real concerns that the migrants will jump on those buses, or will have actually dedicated transport to transport them to local towns, and there’s nothing for them to do. This is a rural area, there’s not much here, and so there’s real concerns.”
Councillor Lunn told GB News that there are ‘real concerns’ among locals about the use of the camp
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GB NEWS
Having spoken to residents about the camp and their concerns, Mr Lunn told GB News: “I’ve spoken to residents this morning in Uckfield and they’re really worried about what is coming. There’s real concern, residents are really worried. It’s a day of shame for the Government. A day of shame.”
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: “Reducing pull factors to the UK, such as tackling illegal working, is also another key strand of work to reduce demand on the asylum system.
“Just last week it was announced that illegal working arrests and raids have reached the highest level in British history thanks to relentless activity by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement teams.
“Latest figures reveal the number of raids have soared by 77 per cent in the UK since the government came into power, leading to an 83 per cent rise in arrests (July 2024 to end of December 2025).”